DAVIS, Calif. -- A record total of 95 UC Davis student-athletes from 12 sports were named to the 2020-21 Big West Academic All-Conference teams for winter and spring sports, the league office announced Tuesday morning.
To earn Big West All-Academic honors, student-athletes must hold a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher, complete one full year at the member institution prior to the year for which the award is bestowed, and – for most sports – compete in at least 50 percent of their team's contests for that year. Track & field athletes who compete at the Big West championship meet are also eligible regardless of the number of meets, while pitchers in softball and baseball have no minimum number of appearances.
The total surpasses the previous record of 90 set exactly one year ago.Â
From the two winter Big West Conference teams, women's basketball repeated its 2019-20 total of seven honorees, with Kayla Konrad and Sage Stobbart each capturing the third such award. Emma Gibb, Mackenzie Trpcic and Cierra Hall each garnered their second Academic All-Conference nods. Meanwhile, men's basketball more than doubled its previous record with five awardees in 2020-21, all first-time recipients: Ade Adebayo, Cameron Ba, Caleb Fuller, Ezra Manjon and Aaron Murphy.
The Aggie diamond sports saw 19 names on the honor roll, with 12 from baseball and seven from softball. Outfielder Marissa Jauregui won her fourth such award, while baseball pitchers Brett Erwin and Ryan Rodriguez each garnered his third. Spencer Gedestad and Nick Johnson each claimed their second from the baseball team, as did softball's Sommer Kisling.
Six UC Davis golfers – one male, five female – earned selections to the Academic All-Conference squad, including third-time honorees Madison Wood and Hannah Sun. Skyler Wood and Andrea Gomez Lloret each claimed their second straight honors from the Aggie women's squad.
The Marya Welch Tennis Center featured 12 scholar-athletes, with seven from the men's team and five from the women's. Mechanical engineering major David Goulak scored his fourth straight nod, whole teammate Arjith Jayaraman won his third. Dariush Jalal and Ivan Thamma of the Aggie men's team and Shirley Hall and Sara Tsukamoto of the women's team are now second-time winners.
Of the 32 honors from the two UC Davis track & field teams, 15 had previously earned Big West Academic All-Conference in either the fall or spring seasons. Distance runner Sarah Anderson picked up her seventh total award, including her fourth for track & field. Only the cancellation of the 2020 Big West fall sports prevented her from having eight. Pole vaulter Bianca Becker also garnered her fourth spring award, while her teammates Kathleen Bufka and Sydney Holmes each scored their third.Â
On the men's side, Anthony Easter, Brandon Jetter and Fabio Kammler each picked up their third spring honors. Meanwhile, Nicholas Brichta, Derek Lin, Marie Navarro and Anaya Ward raised their totals to three Academic All-Conference nods between the 2019 fall, 2020 spring and 2021 spring awards programs. Samantha Louie, Katrina Meier and 2021 Big West Male Co-Track Athlete of the Year Matthew Okonkwo each garnered their second straight academic honors.
Finally, UC Davis women's water polo had seven All-Academic winners, including third-timers Emily Aikema and Allyson Clague. Alyssa Lengtat, Sophia Noble and Noelle Wijnbelt each picked up their second such awards for 2020-21.
The 2021 Big West Spring All-Academic Team had 705 student-athletes – an uptick from the 634 honorees in 2019-20 – while the winter squad had 75 recipients.
2020-21 BIG WEST WINTER & SPRING ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE
UC Davis honorees only. Year listed is academic year, not athletic eligibility.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (7)
Emma Gibb (Sr., Human Development/Spanish)
Cierra Hall (Sr., Cell Biology)
Kayla Konrad (Sr., Psychology)
Kenedy Lilly (So., Political Science)
Sage Stobbart (Sr., Environmental Science & Management)
Lena Svanholm (Sr., Pharmaceutical Chemistry)
Mackenzie Trpcic (Gr., Psychology)
MEN'S BASKETBALL (5)
Ade Adebayo (So., Mechanical Engineering)
Cameron Ba (Jr., Sociology)
Caleb Fuller (Jr., Managerial Economics)
Ezra Manjon (So., Design)
Aaron Murphy (So., African American & African Studies)
BASEBALL (12)
Zach Carrell (So., Economics)
Brett Erwin (Sr., Managerial Economics)
Nate Freeman (So., Mechanical Engineering)
Spencer Gedestad (Sr., Mechanical Engineering)
Nick Iverson (So., Managerial Economics)
Kai Janowicz (So., Computer Science & Engineering)
Nick Johnson (Sr., Human Development)
Nathan Peng (Jr., Mechanical Engineering)
Kaden Riccomini (So., Managerial Economics)
Ryan Rodriguez (Sr., Political Science)
Jake Spillane (Jr., Organizational Studies)
Isaiah Verrett (Sr., Communication)
SOFTBALL (7)
Megan Bower (Jr., Communication)
Taylor Fitzgerald (So., Human Development)
Marissa Jauregui (Sr., International Relations)
Sommer Kisling (Jr., Human Development)
Leah Polson (So., Human Development)
Sarah Starks (So., Communication)
Katie Steffen-Brune (Sr., Biological Sciences)
BEACH VOLLEYBALL (7)
Paloma Bowman (Sr., International Relations)
Rose Holscher (Jr., Economics)
Alicia Letvin (So., Statistics)
Megan Luly (So., Managerial Economics)
Alexa Rockas (Sr., Psychology)
Jane Seslar (Jr., Art History)
Madelin Smith (Jr., Biological Sciences)
MEN'S GOLF (1)
Jacob Westberg (So., Psychology)
WOMEN'S GOLF (5)
Andrea Gomez Lloret (Jr., Managerial Economics)
Jackie Lucena (So., Sociology)
Hannah Sun (Sr., Psychology)
Madison Wood (Sr., Psychology)
Skyler Wood (Sr., Communication)
MEN'S TENNIS (7)
Mitchell Davis (So., Computer Science)
David Goulak (Sr., Mechanical Engineering)
Dariush Jalali (Sr., Economics)
Arjith Jayaraman (Sr., Psychology)
Andras Necz (So., Computer Science)
Ivan Thamma (Sr., Communication)
Andrei Volgin (So., Statistics)
WOMEN'S TENNIS (5)
Kristina Evloeva (So., Communication)
Yana Gurevich (So., Clinical Nutrition)
Shirley Hall (Sr., Human Development)
Lauren Ko (So., Human Development)
Sara Tsukamoto (Sr., Design)
MEN'S TRACK & FIELD (14)
Nicholas Brichta (Sr., Economics)
Sebastian Criego (So., Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Ryman Crone (Sr., Neurobiology, Physiology & Behavior)
Anthony Easter (Sr., Psychology)
Simon Fuller (So., Sociology)
Theo Goodwin (Sr., American Studies)
Brandon Jetter (Sr., Political Science)
Fabio Kammler (Gr., Agricultural & Resource Economics)
Derek Lin (Jr., Computer Science)
Joey Monti (So., Managerial Economics)
Matthew Okonkwo (Jr., Psychology)
Jarrett Rasmussen (Sr., Civil Engineering)
Will Sornberger (So., Computer Science & Engineering)
Kevin Ward (Jr., Organizational Studies)
WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD (18)
Sarah Anderson (Sr., Animal Science)
Chloe Arriaga (So., Art Studio)
Emma Arriaga (So., Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology)
Sierra Atkins (So., Communication)
Bianca Becker (Sr., Biological Sciences)
Kathleen Bufka (Sr., Animal Science)
Clara Chan (So., Neurobiology, Physiology & Behavior)
Chelsea Daye (Jr., Psychology)
Alexys Ford (So., Psychology)
Marlene Gutierrez (Jr., Psychology)
Sydney Holmes (Gr., Master of Public Health)
Samantha Louie (Jr., Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Katrina Meier (Jr., Neurobiology, Physiology & Behavior)
Marie Navarro (Jr., Design)
Erika Nordman (Sr., Design)
Brena Videll (Sr., Human Development)
Brenna Wapstra Scott (So., Environmental Science & Management)
Anaya Ward (Jr., Environmental Policy Analysis & Planning)
WOMEN'S WATER POLO (7)
Emily Aikema (Sr., Psychology)
Allyson Clague (Sr., Mechanical Engineering)
Julia Hartmann (Sr., Biological Systems Engineering)
Leslie Haynes (So., Human Development)
Alyssa Lengtat (Sr., Economics)
Sophia Noble (Jr., Psychology)
Noelle Wijnbelt (Jr., Human Development)
Â
ABOUT UC DAVIS:
Centrally located between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe, over 700 student-athletes across 25 teams enjoy an unrivaled undergraduate experience at the fifth-ranked public school in the country.
Ranked annually in the nation's top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility, UC Davis and its innovative Aggie EVO system helps student-athletes develop passions, connect with a comprehensive network of alums and industry leaders, gain real-world experience and thrive as a young professional following a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school.